Simulation response of B4C-coated PPAC for thermal neutrons using GEANT4 Monte Carlo approach

Abstract

In this work we report a technique employed for the detection of thermal neutrons using the parallel plate avalanche counter (PPAC). In order to make the detector sensitive to thermal neutrons a thin layer of B4C has been coated on the forward electrode of the PPAC configuration. Upon falling on the converter coating, charged particles were generated via the B10(n,α)Li7 reaction. In this simulation study, thermal neutrons have been simulated using the GEANT4 MC code, and the response of the detector has been evaluated as a function of neutron energy. For a better understanding of the simulation response, the performance of the detector has been found using the two different physics list i.e., QGSP_BIC_HP and QGSP_BERT_HP. The obtained results predict that such boron-carbide based PPAC can be potentially utilized for thermal neutron detection. A complete description of the detector configuration and the simulation results is also presented.